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About USU

The mission of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences is to educate, train, and comprehensively prepare uniformed services health professionals, scientists, and leaders to support the Military and Public Health Systems, the National Security and National Defense Strategies of the United States, and the readiness of our Uniformed Services.

Academics

Since our first graduating class in 1982, the USU's MDs. Nurses and graduates in biomedical sciences provide exceptional service through service in the U.S. Military and civilian careers of distinction. Today, America's Medical School has 691 enrolled students and 5,043 graduates. Over 1,300 graduates in Biomedical Sciences lead aggressive research in medical research. Today's 663 graduates of the School of Nursing blend science, research and field training in advanced practice and PhD degrees. The USU's Postgraduate Dental College provides advanced degree's to the military's dental community, graduating 72 students since establishment.

Research At USU

The University's research program covers a range of clinical and other topics important to both the military and public health. Infectious diseases, trauma medicine, health maintenance, and cancer are areas of particular strength. Researchers are also making important new efforts in state-of-the-art fields that cut across disciplines, such as genomics, proteomics, and drug-delivery mechanisms.

Centers

USU is home to many different Centers and Institutes, which help advance the university's research, education and public service missions. Faculty members and students collaborate with other leading experts at USU's Centers and Institutes on projects that push incredible boundaries across manifold disciplines of biomedical science. Their work is shaping military medicine and world health in many positive, powerful ways.

Military At USU

The USU's military unique curriculum is supported by military professions from all services who teach USU's military and civilian students. All military personnel are supported by the USU Brigade, the Brigade staff are managed by the Military Personnel Office.

AFRRI At USU

AFRRI mission is to preserve the health and performance of U.S. military personnel and to protect humankind through research that advances understanding of the effects of ionizing radiation.

To these ends, the institute collaboratively researches the biological effects of ionizing radiation and provides medical training and emergency response to manage incidents related to radiation exposure.

Sbrocco Lab

Medical and Clinical Psychology

Medical & Clinical Psychology: Sbrocco Lab

Graduate Students

Major Jennifer Henderson

Major Jennifer Henderson, M.S.I.R. (2009) is a 2009 Cohort year student (U.S. Air Force officer) working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Jennifer received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of West Florida in 2002. Jennifer received her commission as a U.S. Air Force Intelligence Officer in 2002. Jennifer also received a Master's of Science in International Relations from Troy University in 2009 where her primary research focus was Russian international politics. Prior to attending USUHS, she served at the 609th Air Intelligence Squadron and deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar in 2005. Jennifer's research at USUHS has focused on weight control behaviors and women's health issues. She is beginning her thesis research examining maternal biopsychosocial risk factors associated with infant mortality. Her clinical interests include women's and children's health, secondary traumatic stress, and cognitive behavioral therapy. She is currently completing her predoctoral internship at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. She can be contacted at jennifer.henderson@usuhs.edu.

Captain Sarah J. McCreight

Captain Sarah J. McCreight is a 2011 Cohort year student (U.S. Army officer) working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from East Carolina University in 2001. She enlisted in the U.S. Army as an intelligence analyst before entering the Army “Green to Gold” program. Sarah commissioned as a U.S. Army Signal Officer in 2006 and served as a Signal Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion S6. She served in Afghanistan in 2009. Sarah received a Master of Arts in clinical psychology from East Carolina University in 2010. Sarah’s primary research interests include weight management and physical fitness among pregnant populations, especially those serving on active duty in the military. She is also a collaborator in the Prevention of Obesity in Military Communities program project grant, and has growing interest in public health policy. Her clinical interests include health behavior change, strength and resilience in military families, and stress and emotional conflict among active duty military mothers. She completed a thesis evaluating the Army Pregnancy and Postpartum Physical Training (P3T) Program at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and recently began her dissertation examining factors that benefit active duty mothers in their transition to parenthood. She can be contacted at sarah.mccreight@usuhs.edu.

Omni Cassidy

Omni Cassidy is a 2012 Cohort year graduate student in the Medical and Clinical Psychology dual-track program. In 2010, she received her B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. As an undergraduate, Omni volunteered with the Weight Management and Eating Disorders Program. She also worked as an intern at the Jackson Heart Study in Jackson, MS, investigating African Americans with Type II diabetes. Before beginning her graduate studies, Omni worked as a research assistant at the NIH and USUHS on a study examining the effect of interpersonal psychotherapy on the prevention of excess weight gain in adolescent girls and also coordinated a pilot study to adapt interpersonal psychotherapy to be culturally appropriate in preventing excess weight gain in racial/ethnic minority groups. She is interested in factors that may promote disordered eating and excessive weight gain in African American youth and how such research may be used to inform policy. She can be contacted at omni.cassidy@usuhs.edu.

Captain Dawn Johnson

Captain Dawn Johnson is a 2013 Cohort year student (U.S. Air Forcer) working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Dawn earned her Bachelor’s degree in biology from Wartburg College and her Master of Arts in counseling licensure from Denver Seminary. Prior to entering the Air Force, Dawn clinically worked with women and children escaping domestic violence and homelessness. She led recovery groups for men and women struggling with addictions. She has experience working with patients in hospice care and youth who are incarcerated. Dawn also did some inpatient and outpatient work with veterans after completing her Master’s degree. She commissioned into the Air Force through Officer Training School. She worked for five years as a Special Agent in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. She mainly worked criminal and counterintelligence cases. At her last assignment, she worked in the HQ Warfighter Division. Her primary research interests include pregnancy and postpartum emotional well-being and physical fitness as it relates to obesity and disordered eating. She is currently working on the Prevention of Obesity in Military Communities-Mother/Baby study and examining Command and social support factors in the prevention of excess weight gain during pregnancy. She is also interested in looking at how these factors affect the ability to lose the weight gained in pregnancy and how they affect emotional well-being. She can be contacted at dawn.johnson@usuhs.edu.

Captain Kendra Oldham

Captain Kendra L. Oldham is a 2013 Cohort year graduate student (U.S. Air Force) working towards a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Kendra attended Central Washington University on a three year Air Force ROTC Scholarship, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After commissioning, Kendra worked as a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. During her time with OSI, Kendra conducted investigations of economic crimes, sexual assault, and other felony criminal offenses. Capt Oldham completed one combat deployment to Iraq (OEF) where she conducted missions in support of force protection. Kendra completed her M.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Missouri (2012) and ended her career with OSI working for the AFOSI ICON, Quantico, VA. During her assignment with the ICON, Capt Oldham collaborated with numerous federal agencies, monitored current events worldwide to identify concerns to AFOSI and Air Force leadership, and provided guidance to OSI field units on investigations. Her primary research interests include obesity and weight stigma and how they affect emotional well-being of military members. Additionally, she is interested in exploring how weight stigma may erode unit cohesion, and military readiness. She is currently working on the Fit4Duty study, which seeks to reduce excess weight gain in the military population. She can be contacted at kendra.oldham@usuhs.edu

Current and Recent Lab Activities:

The Sbrocco lab runs on-going weight loss groups for overweight and obese African-American women. Over the past fifteen years the Sbrocco lab has developed Behavior Choice Treatment (BCT), a group-based cognitive-behavioral weight loss treatment which helps individuals make moderate and sustainable healthy lifestyle changes. BCT has been shown to promote sustained weight loss over the course of a twelve-month post-treatment follow-up. Most recently, the lab has conducted BCT weight loss groups in predominantly African-American church settings as part of a community-based participatory research model. In addition, family members are included in the current study to help determine if changing the eating patterns of a woman in the household influences the eating behaviors of other household members.